reading and teaching

Perhaps you noticed that I didn’t post about too many books or essays this fall. I was just in over my head and apparently incapable of digesting anything literary after the girls were in bed. But I’m happy to report that I’m reading again—finally—and I have a ton of exciting books to post about in the coming weeks. My wonderful and talented friend, Alex Lemon, just published his first memoir, Happy, which I will hopefully get to soon. I just read Kao Kalia Yang’s amazing memoir, The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir, which details Yang’s family’s escape from Laos and eventual arrival in the United States after the end of the Vietnam War. Over the holidays I read two very interesting anthologies, Who’s Your Mama? and Unbuttoned, which I reviewed for Literary Mama. (I’ll let you know when the review is up at LM.) And I’m currently finishing Hope Edelman’s lovely memoir, The Possibility of Everything. So, I have lots to write about.

I’m also beginning to gear up for my winter/spring classes and my end-of-February Mother Words Retreat. There are still a few spots in my next online Mother Words class, which begins February 10th. You can read more about that on my website, or contact me with questions.

I’m teaching a two-hour mini-workshop, Mother Memoir, at Mother’s Day, Inc. in Chanhassen, Minnesota, on Saturday, January 23rd, 10:30-12:30. You can register for that here.

I’m also teaching an 8-week Introduction to Creative Nonfiction course at the Loft, beginning February 4th, which you can register for here.

And there are still a few available spots for my Mother Words Retreat at Faith’s Lodge, February 26-28. More information on that here.

I feel energized (still tired, but energized) for the first time in a long time. And it’s nice to remember that the more I read, the more I want to read.